2 yrs' jail, Rs 28 lakh fine for man in power theft case

A resident of Pooth Kalan was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment and slapped with a fine of over Rs 28 lakh by a special electricity court in a power theft case.
Surender Solanki, of House No. 442 in Pooth Kalan, was convicted for power theft at his residence in December, 2005.
The court sentenced him to the prison term under Section 135 of Indian Electricity Act, 2003, and determined a total civil liability of Rs 28,96,320 payable by Solanki under Section 154(5) of the said act.
A statement by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd said the fine imposed was to compensate for the losses incurred by the company due to the power theft by Solanki.

TPDDL officials had raided Solanki's residence in 2005 and found he was involved in theft of electricity by sourcing the supply directly from power lines using single core wires from different poles, making it a three-phase supply.
He was using electricity for the manufacture of items for industrial use. No meter was found at the site while the total connected load was found to be 95.94KW.
Accordingly, a theft bill of Rs 36.20 lakh was raised against him, the statement said.
The charge sheet against him was filed in September, 2008.